Barcelona took on Getafe in La Liga in a match of extreme importance. The Blaugrana needed a win to keep their title hopes alive, and a 5-2 win was what they got. Ronald Koeman’s side scored five past their opponents, with Lionel Messi netting a brace.
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid both won their respective matches on the weekend, meaning that the pressure was on Barcelona to replicate the results. The failure would have knocked the Catalans back in the title race this close to the finishing line. However, there weren’t to be any surprises in store for the Blaugrana as they beat Getafe comfortably.
Barcelona started the match on the front foot and nearly took the lead just four minutes in. Messi was picked out by Antoine Griezmann, but the Argentine’s shot bounced off the inside of the crossbar, onto the goal line, and then back out towards safety.
Nevertheless, the Blaugrana did not have to wait much longer for the opening goal, which arrived in the eighth minute. Messi was picked out by Sergio Busquets, and the Barca star finished past David Soria with ease.
Getafe hit back instantly and scored the equalizer just four minutes later. Defender Clement Lenglet was caught in the crossfire, and the ball bounced off him and into the back of the net.
Barcelona persisted with their attack and were rewarded just before the half-hour mark with the opposition’s defender Sofian Chakla putting the ball past his own goalkeeper. The Spanish giants went three-one up five minutes later, with Messi grabbing his second goal of the night.
Both teams continued to cancel each other out until the 70th minute when Getafe was awarded a penalty. Ronald Araujo stepped on Enes Unal’s foot, and the referee pointed to the spot with a little help from VAR. Unal himself took the spot-kick and made the score 3-2.
Nonetheless, Araujo repented for his sins late on as he scored the goal, which sealed the points for the Catalan side. The defender scored from a corner to restore his team’s two-goal lead and guarantee the points. Griezmann added a fifth in stoppage time from the penalty spot.
Barcelona remained third in the table despite the win. However, they have played a match less than both the Madrid teams, who currently occupy the top two spots on the league table.
